Rocky View County is moving forward with multiple proposed data centre projects that are looking to set up shop within the county.
At their April 22 meeting, Council voted to direct Administration to work with data centre proponents on drafting wholly developer-funded area structure plans.
They also unanimously approved the co-creation of a new standard land use district to be incorporated within the County’s Land Use Bylaw and to proceed with an expedited planning process.
A data centre is a physical facility akin to a warehouse, but used to house computer systems, servers and other components for managing, processing, and storing data.
Ben Manshanden, RVC's Senior Strategist, made the case by noting global demand for data processing infrastructure is creating an emerging economic development opportunity for Alberta and RVC.
"Several potential investors have approached the County with proposals for the development of large data centres, outside of existing area structure plans (ASPs), in locations with the necessary infrastructure to support these facilities," Manshanden said.
The Government of Alberta’s AI Data Centre Strategy, passed in December 2024, has set a target of attracting $100 billion in data centre investment opportunities in the province over the next five years.
The magnitude of potential investments, the limited time horizon for final investment decisions, and proposed two to three-year timelines to be operational, warranted consideration of an expedited process for RVC council, Manshanden advised.
Council was first introduced to data centres at an early March meeting. There are currently four proponents seeking support to develop sites within the County, including Beacon AI, Kineticor, Kalina, and Wild Rose Power Hub.
Beacon AI is currently preparing an area structure plan to be presented for adoption at a public hearing in June.
Administration proposed that the County proceed with these discrete data centre projects, and then use the lessons learned from the process to develop a long-term strategy to capture future investment opportunities.
Each project will be located adjacent to necessary energy infrastructure, which may include high-voltage electricity transmission lines, natural gas pipelines, and fibre infrastructure. Their locations are typically not located within existing area structure plans and on land generally designated as Agriculture General.
According to the proposal, two will be located near the Balzac Industrial Park, one near Crossfield, and another west of Langdon.
Each project proponent is considering investments ranging from $1 billion to over $10 billion in the long-term, with the creation of roughly 300 well-paying jobs at each facility.
